Saddle stitchers — A Staple of Fine Finishing

“Everyone in today’s market is looking to enhance profits, reduce labor, increase production and position themselves with a competitive edge over others in their marketplace,” Calov states. “In order to help customers in this task, we have designed our computer-driven stitchers for users that purchase a single stitcher and those that require multiple machines. Customers with one machine can still take advantage of mobile feeders because they can easily configure the machine feeders based on the job parameters. They can purchase multiple cover feeders to run four-pagers instead of folding them first and then running them through the stitcher. Users can eliminate the folding process while gaining efficiency and increasing their profits.”

Add Up the Savings

Calov points out that the ST400, with its automated, computer servo-driven technology, can reduce makeready time up to 50 percent. A user that runs four short-run jobs on a given day can save considerable makeready time, with a savings of up to two hours or more. Based on the hourly rate, that could translate into savings of $200 to $300 per day, he contends.

The ST400 boasts computer-driven stepping motors and servo drives for each component of the stitcher, which allows the operator to independently control each area without influencing any other part of the stitching process. The development of servo-driven mobile feeders include horizontal, vertical feeder, cover and card feeder, and card gluers for CDs. They can be placed on either side of the saddle chain to aid in machine layout and in additional functionality for special job layouts, providing flexibility to configure the feeders on the saddle chain based on the job specification.

Printers need a high-speed machine that can handle a wide range of products and that can stand up to the rigors of multiple-shift operations, according to Dennis Keihm, vice president and general manager of McCain Bindery Systems. They should be readily adaptable for applications such as ink-jetting, with a moveable caliper.